Category Archives: Active lifestyle

Active lifestyle, Fitness, Goals, Health & wellness, Longevity, Nutrition, Personal development, Weight loss

Why Being Bad Isn’t So Bad

September 29, 2015 John Dolan

Last week we discussed the value of feedback. Specifically how feedback can help you learn and improve. This week I’d like to delve into what I believe to be a similar topic.

So you had a bad day (or maybe a bad week) as it relates to accomplishing your health & wellness goals. Hey, it happens.

Let’s say you missed a couple workouts last week for whatever reason; aside from being too sick or rehabbing an injury. We’re not here to make excuses, we want results.

So what can you do about it and how can YOU benefit from being bad?

First, let’s look at a few things that can happen.

You may get down on yourself for letting life get in the way of your workouts. Don’t go there.
Momentum stops pretty quickly and a couple missed workouts can turn into a few more if you’re not careful. Don’t let it happen.
You may find yourself more motivated to get back on track. It can be an opportunity to increase your workout intensity and come back strong. This is ideal and why I say “being bad isn’t so bad”. It’s like a minor correction so to speak.

But keep in mind, if you’re not pushing to get back to work, a lack of motivation could be a sign that you’re getting bored with your workouts. It may be time to mix up your routine a bit. Especially if you’ve been doing the same exercises for a few months in a row. Boredom can set in and diminish your enthusiasm. (I have to admit, that’s where I’m at right now.)

If you need some extra help, what can you do to get back in the zone?

Try exercising at a different time of day.
Get a workout partner, or hire a personal trainer.
Make sure that you’re eating enough and getting enough rest.
Show up. Stop thinking too much and just get busy.
Review your health & wellness goal(s) to get re-inspired.
Use your imagination, or Google. Find something to get moving.

Let’s wrap this up with some final thoughts:

Can one missed workout set you back to ground zero? To a place back in time when you were less healthy and in worse shape? I don’t think so. Because the opposite isn’t possible either. One great workout is not going to transform your body and give you all of the health benefits you’re seeking. It’s the same for a good meal or bad one, isn’t it?

So lighten up Francis. Stop worrying so much about what you didn’t do. Use it to your advantage and get your momentum back – one good meal and one intense workout at a time. And then focus on what you ARE doing, and be grateful for the opportunity.

“Progress not perfection.” ~ Unknown

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything resonate? Will you take action? What else would you like to see in future posts?

If you know someone that can benefit from this content, I’d be eternally grateful if you would share this with them. And if you like what you see, you can SUBSCRIBE for automatic updates, LIKE US on Facebook, and spread the word about www.thin2win.net with your friends, family and social circles.

Active lifestyle, Fitness, Goals, Health & wellness, Longevity, Nutrition, Personal development, Weight loss

The Value of Feedback

September 22, 2015 John Dolan 2 Comments

First off, I want to thank my family, friends, and followers of this blog for the valuable feedback you provided to last week’s post. It was very inspiring to see your interest in what I’m doing with this blog. I plan to incorporate your ideas into upcoming posts.

When it comes to feedback, I “usually” welcome it. I say usually because there may be times when the feedback received is something you didn’t expect, or want to hear. But regardless, I personally find that feedback is extremely helpful to my growth and development.

And it’s one of the best ways we can learn. About ourselves in general, about our mistakes and ways to improve, and about what’s important to others. So seek it out whenever possible.

But feedback doesn’t only have to be from others. Think about just being present in the moment. What do you see or hear? What’s missing? You can also observe your surroundings. And the results you’re achieving (or not). This approach allows you to gain keen insight into what’s working and what you can do better at.

Tracking is another form of feedback. We’ve discussed “tracking“ in a previous post. You can link back to it here. One of the most important elements of tracking is how it brings awareness to the things that you’re trying to do more or less of. Like reinforcing good habits, or eliminating bad ones.

For example, if you are trying to increase your savings, tracking can help you get a handle on your spending. If you’re trying to get healthy, tracking can provide important feedback for how many times you’ve worked out this past week, month, or quarter. Now you can compare your “actual” data to your “projected” numbers – (e.g. your goal), and determine if you’re on-track, or off.

If you use your imagination, you can improve just about anything with tracking. Think about it for a minute. Pick an area in your life that you want to improve.

Example: How can I live to be (insert your number here) years old, and maintain a great quality of life for as long as possible?

Now brainstorm 3 to 5 new habits that will help you accomplish this area of improvement. Examples could include:

Jump start my nutrition by eliminating fast food, sugar, processed crap…
Improve my cardiovascular health with 3 cardio training sessions every week.
Increase my lean muscle mass with 3 strength training sessions every week.
Eat more nutritious meals at home and minimize the number of times I eat out.
Maintain portion control when I eat.

Pick one new habit that you can easily measure (or track). Then get to work! After it’s become part of your routine, add another new habit, and track it. If you try to approach this one step at a time instead of all at once, it will be easier and more fun. And you will most likely be more successful at improving the thing that you’re trying to change.

Are you with me? Will you try it?

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything have a positive impact on you? Can I get you to take action? What would you like to see in future posts?

If you know someone who struggles with their weight, I’d be eternally grateful if you would share this with them. And if you like what you see, you can SUBSCRIBE for automatic updates, LIKE US on Facebook, and spread the word about www.thin2win.net with your friends, family and social circles.

Active lifestyle, Fitness, Goals, Health & wellness, Longevity, Nutrition, Personal development, Sleep, Weight loss

Are You Losing Weight or Losing Interest?

September 15, 2015 John Dolan

It’s been almost a year since I officially started this blog. A concept that was churning around in my head for a few years prior. On the positive side I continue to learn a lot every day. And I have formed many new relationships. But I am getting very little engagement or interest, and I don’t know why. So I am contemplating shutting it down.

Frankly, I enjoy writing about health & wellness, and there is plenty to write about. My main topics are centered around weight-loss and longevity, and supported by exercise, good nutrition, and personal development. But my ability to get my followers to take action doesn’t seem to be working, nor does and my approach for growing my audience through social media. If it is and I hope I’m wrong, I am not hearing about or seeing any significant results.

I do realize that I am part of the problem. In addition to learning how to become a better writer, I am learning the many technical aspects of maintaining a blog and integrating it with other programs. In full disclosure, I am not a programmer or web developer. As a result I am making plenty of mistakes, and learning from them along the way.

I also realize that some of my posts are too long (like this one). But it’s not for lack of trying. I continually look for ways to “say it” with fewer words. So thank you for bearing with me and overlooking some of my “rookie” faux pas as you follow me on this journey.

This is not a plea for your sympathy. What I’m looking for is how I can help YOU. If you’ve read any of my posts, you understand that I “walk my talk”. My approach and methods are “natural”. Natural as in eating right and exercising as a way to build lean muscle and burn excess body fat. This is the best way to lose weight, keep it off, and improve your overall health & wellness.

But as human nature goes, there are unfortunately far too many people looking for a quick fix, or a way to lose the weight without changing their habits or doing the necessary work. If this describes you, then my challenge is to help you realize once and for all that you can’t take the easy road. A quick fix may give you some short term results. But those results can’t be sustained. And in the long run you’ll end up gaining it all back, and then some (which makes matters even worse).

So I ask you this:

How can I help you?
What can I do to help you embrace my approach to losing weight?
What can I do to get you to take action (for you, not me)?

My main goal for this blog is to provide you with the highest quality content to help you achieve maximum results. My message is geared toward anyone that struggles with weight issues. Anyone that needs to learn how to eat right and exercise for longevity.

Sounds simple but for a number of reasons it’s not. This is why I feel that I am best suited to help men and women over 40 that need to lose weight and get in shape.

Why people over 40?

You have the potential to live for another 50 years, or more. But it’s at this point in our lives that our health can spiral out of control if we neglect it. Life moves fast and before you know it, you’ve turned 50 or 60 and find yourself out of shape and 30 pounds overweight.

How did this happen? It didn’t happen overnight or by accident. If you keep to the same routine(s), you will continue to gain more weight. And possibly dig yourself an early grave.

If you’re over-weight, it’s proven that you are putting yourself in jeopardy for too many unnecessary health risks including obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, cancer, and a long list of others. Not only do these conditions also require medication, the extra weight and symptoms put too many stresses on your body. It’s not good physically, mentally or medically.

But there is a silver lining. These health risks are all preventable, and many times reversible if you take better care of yourself. Wouldn’t you rather avoid a serious medical condition than succumb to it because of neglect, laziness or lack of knowledge? Your body is resilient and you have the ability to improve your situation.

I’ve been fortunate to have had success staying in great shape and in excellent health, for which I am extremely grateful. So I am compelled to share what works and try to help as many people as I can. And although social media can really help spread the word, I am failing at getting my message across.

But I’m not giving up. And I need your HELP!

Losing weight is really quite simple when you know what to do. But it does take hard work, discipline, sacrifice and persistence. And you have to give yourself TIME.

Think about it. If you’re 30 pounds over-weight and you’ve been packing it on for the past 10 years or more, expecting to lose all of that weight in the next month or two is unrealistic and ridiculous. It’s also unhealthy. So don’t set yourself up to fail. Do it the right way.

It’s not the weight-loss you need to focus on… What???

If it’s not the weight-loss then what is it?

You have “things” that need to change. “Things” like your choices, habits, actions, decisions and disciplines. Click here to link back to a previous post.

And guess what? When those things change (or you change I should say), then everything changes for you. And the weight will be gone forever, never to return.

“If you will change, then everything will change for you.” ~ Jim Rohn

This is the KEY. YOU have to CHANGE!

Let me help you figure this out so you can get rid you of this unhealthy and unnecessary disease once and for all. And do yourself and your family a favor. Stop looking for an easy way out. Stop making excuses. And stop beating yourself up. Dig deeper. You can do this!

Active lifestyle, Fitness, Goals, Health & wellness, Longevity, Nutrition, Personal development, Sleep, Weight loss

Labor Day… A Time To Recommit

September 8, 2015 John Dolan

I hope that your Labor Day weekend was an enjoyable and relaxing one, spent outdoors with family and friends.

If you over-indulged like I did during the long holiday weekend, don’t worry. We all need some fun and excitement in our lives. Especially if you’re working hard on yourself and on your career all the time.

Getting off-track can sometimes help to solidify your WHY. It can also strengthen your commitment to your target. It’s usually not a bad thing so stay focused and find something positive about it.

Are you ready to get serious and back on track. Consider this a friendly reminder to get back to it. Start by planning your upcoming workouts and clean eating meals over the next week or two so you can maintain the momentum you built up before the long weekend.

Rest is good, and it’s an essential part of our growth and development. But it’s amazing how taking a few days off can dull the edge of our motivation. Don’t let it happen by delaying your next workout.

Your health & wellness is your responsibility. Get back into your routine immediately to continue reaping the benefits.

September marks the last month of the 3rd quarter. Are you on track to accomplish your weight-loss goal for 2015?

If you are, congratulations! And keep in mind, this is just the beginning of your new life. Health & wellness (and longevity) is a mindset that becomes a lifestyle. Are you thinking about your next goal?
If you’re not there yet or you just started, keep the faith and believe in yourself. Back up that faith with intense, calorie-burning and muscle building workouts fueled by clean-eating behaviors. The results will begin to show.

Thinking ahead, do you want to look and feel great next summer? April is NOT the time to start on that endeavor. NOW IS THE TIME!

So get started. If you need some guidance, check the “Archives” in the sidebar to review posts that were published over the past year to see what resonates with you in this season of your life.

Active lifestyle, Fitness, Goals, Health & wellness, Healthy aging, Longevity, Nutrition, Personal development, Weight loss

Accelerate Your Weight-Loss

September 1, 2015 John Dolan

Want to accelerate your weight-loss initiative?

By burning excess calories and stubborn body fat?

And building lean muscle?

Cool!

We’re going to discuss exercises you can do in the privacy of your own home, with very little space required (except for the walking).

And these are great if you’re short on time.

Of course you should always consult your primary care physician before beginning an exercise or nutrition program.

If you’re new to fitness or you’ve been sedentary for some time, you should start slow. And put more of an emphasis on your form than the number of reps.

Then as you learn the moves, do a few more reps, add weight, or go a little farther each time your exercise. And remember to breathe.

Here are 6 exercises along with a modification for each, based on your fitness level.

High knee pull-downs – Standing up straight, raise your hands over your head and reach to the ceiling. Pull both hands down to your chest and make a fist. At the same time, drive your left knee up as high as you can. Return to the starting position and alternate knees. (Start slow but after a few days, increase your speed and the number of reps). Modify: Jumping jacks – I don’t think this needs an explanation.

Squats – Standing up straight with your feet shoulder width apart and parallel with each other, squat down without leaning forward. You can stick your arms out for added balance. Return to your starting position for a count of one. Repeat while maintaining your balance. Make sure that your knees are not tracking out beyond your feet. If squats are new to you and feel awkward, try facing a wall which will prevent you from leaning too far forward. Modify: Lunges – Standing straight up with your feet shoulder width apart and parallel with each other, take a big step forward with your left foot. Keep the ball of your right foot touching the ground as you lunge forward maintaining your balance. Dip your right knee down to the ground. Push forward to stand up on your left leg. Bring your right foot up, next to your left one. Alternate by taking a big step forward with your right foot. Dip your left knee to the ground, then push forward to stand up on your right leg. Bring your left foot up, next to your right one. Repeat to exhaustion. (You can also keep your back leg straight instead of dipping down which will give you a different stretch and burn).

Mountain climbers – Start in a push-up position with hands and feet shoulder width apart. Holding this position, drive your left knee straight towards the front of your body. Return your knee back to the starting position. Do the same with your right knee, then continue alternating left and right. You may need to start at a walking pace. After you build up some endurance, do these as fast as you can at a running pace. And be sure to breathe. Modify: Oblique crunches. Lie on your back with legs straight and about 3″ off the floor. Hands behind your head with fingers locked. Pull your left knee towards your right elbow while simultaneously driving your right elbow towards your left knee. Alternate back and forth. Repeat to exhaustion.

Plank – Get into a push-up position on the floor, but instead of placing your hands shoulder width apart on the floor, lean on your forearms with your hands out in front and face down. Your forearm and upper arm should form a 90 degree angle. With a straight back parallel to the floor, hold this position for as long as you can. Make sure that your back remains straight with no arch up or sag down. Your ability to hold this position for longer amounts of time will increase the more times you do this exercise. Modify: Same thing but do your plank from your knees (instead of your feet).

Push-ups – Start with your hands shoulder width apart and face down on the floor with your feet together and back straight, parallel to the floor. Lower yourself maintaining your straight back, parallel to the floor, until your chest makes slight contact with the floor. Then push yourself back up to the starting position. Do as many as you can. Focus on tightening your core, maintaining good form, and breathing out as you push “up”. Modify: Same thing but do your push-ups from your knees (instead of your feet).

Power walking – I’ll describe this as walking with a purpose and a sense of urgency. Like you need to be somewhere and you’re in a hurry (just short of running).Modify: Walking at a slower pace; especially if you’re a beginner. Take it down a notch or two. Something is better than nothing.

You will need to change the order of these 6 exercises to suit your muscle groups better. Start with push-ups. Then move to squats, mountain climbers, lunges, planks, and high knee pull-downs. And then work up to at least 3 sets. You can integrate power walking as a “pre” or “post” workout routine.

BONUS: Incorporate jumping rope into your exercise routine.

This one will cost you about $10 to $15. But it’s well worth it for the calorie burn and the increased stamina you’ll gain over time. Check out the Caymen speed rope, and the Survival and Cross speed rope.

I can’t stress enough about the importance of exercise. Think of it as a catalyst; not only for your weight-loss initiative but also for your overall health & well being.

Exercise provides a wealth of benefits. When you combine intense exercise with eating clean, you will accelerate your weight loss!

And you’ll be amazed at how the weight comes off and stays off, when you give it enough time.

Thank you for sharing your time with me.

I hope you found value in this post.

Now it’s time for YOU to take action…

I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything resonate? What else would you like to see in future posts? I welcome your feedback.

What’s your Win to be Thin?

If you know someone that can benefit from this content, share it with them. And if you like what you see, SUBSCRIBE for automatic updates when new posts are published.

You can also LIKE US on Facebook, and spread the word about www.thin2win.net with your friends, family and social circles.

www.Thin2Win.net